Raj plugs into future, set to install smart electricity metres in all homes

The work of installing smart metres for approximately 14.3 million connection holders will start soon and cost around Rs 9700 crore

The Rajasthan government has decided to install smart electricity metres in all homes in the state in its bid to curb power theft.

A senior electricity department official said that the work of installing smart metres for approximately 14.3 million connection holders will start soon and around Rs 9700 crore is likely to be spent on this. Earlier, the previous government, led by Congress, had installed 5,30,000 smart meters on a pilot basis.

These smart meters will be both post-paid and pre-paid. 

“Pre-paid facility means you can recharge as much as you use or need. Such consumers will also get a discount of around 15 paise per unit in the bill,” the official said. A final decision on the discount would be taken soon, he said.

“Due to this, a consumer can save easily on his electricity bill, because most of the consumers know what is their monthly electricity consumption and how much is the bill. In such a situation, he can recharge for that much money,” the official said.

According to officials of the energy department, this work is slated to be completed in 27 months, from the date the project is officially launched. These smart meters will work on a real-time system. As soon as the electricity is consumed, its information will be available on the discom’s server. As it is directly connected to the server, there will be no need to go door to door to take meter readings. The online bill will be ready as soon as the month is over. Consumers will also get the bill online on their registered mobile number.

This work is being done under the Central government’s revamped distribution sector scheme (RDSS). Under this, 60 per cent of the amount will be received from the Centre, while 40 per cent will be borne by the state government-owned power distribution companies.

Giving a break-up, the official said that in the Jaipur region, the cost of installing around 47.60 lakh meters will be over Rs 3100 crores. In Ajmer, the cost of installing over 54.30 lakh smart meters will be around Rs 3660 crore and in Jodhpur, the cost of installing over 40.80 lakh meters will be Rs 2875 crore.